Hyundai Motor India expects its share of electric vehicle (EV) sales to jump to as much as 8 percent of total sales by the next fiscal year, an eight-fold increase from roughly 1 percent currently, as the company prepares to launch a small EV built specifically for the domestic market.
“Next fiscal year, we should be touching the industry contribution of about 7-8 percent EV,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Tarun Garg said at a media roundtable on Thursday.
The projected surge would mark a sharp acceleration for Hyundai India, whose electrification push has so far trailed rivals such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW MG and others.
The Indian arm of the Korean automaker has a stated goal to have 50 percent of its sales coming from clean fuel by 2030, which includes hybrids, EVs and CNG, and has committed $5.07 billion in investment.
The company currently sells two EVs in India—the Creta Electric and Ioniq 5—both of which have seen limited success, with its electric market share at 2 percent in Q1 of this fiscal.
The Creta Electric is not a grounds-up EV, meaning it was built on the same platform as its much popular ICE version, leading to similarity in design. Its sales, though, have begun to improve of late, with volumes rising to around 1,000 units in August compared to 400-500 a month earlier.
“People have really returned to Creta EV and we are seeing very good traction. The gap between the claimed range and the actual range is the minimum in Creta EV. The SDV has a great experience with the customer. It’s very responsive. The driveability is very good,” said Garg who took over as Hyundai India’s first Indian-national MD and CEO on January 1. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (Siam's) annual convention in New Delhi.
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